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A blogger's guide to London Fashion Week 2019

London Fashion Week 2019: When is it? How do you get tickets? It’s that time of the year again, the time which fashionistas claim as the most important and exciting period marked in their calendar.

Fashion week comes around only twice a year. Designers set out their wares for fashionistas to fawn over.

London Fashion Week is a trade event hosting shows open for consumers, brands and influencers.

Fashion week is show time. Not just for designers and fashionistas; but also for all you fashion bloggers out there. As a fashion blogger you should make good use and take advantage of this time. It's the best opportunity you'll get to make connections with PR agencies, lasting impressions with brands and be a source of information and inspiration for your readers.

How to go to London fashion week?

You do need a ticket to get into Fashion Week shows. Usually, most bloggers get tickets by being invited by the designer or their press team. Brands invite bloggers to their shows as a marketing tool, so that their shows would reach a larger pool of people. Typically, brands would also send outfits to bloggers making sure their support for their brand is explicit, and obvious, not only during the show but also outside the shows, in all the hustle and bustle which surrounds fashion week in case they get snapped by the paps.

For smaller bloggers receiving an invite depends on their relationship with PR agencies and Brands. However if you receive over 10,000 unique visitors on your blog each month and have over 10,000 combined followers on all social media platforms, you could register your interest as an accredited blogger. To be accepted as an accredited blogger by the British Fashion Council, you must have a wide reach, influence, engagement and prove that you support the work of British designers. Accredited bloggers have access to the same facilities as accredited press and buyers.

You could apply through the official fashion week website. Most people try to blag it, try to get into fashion week without being a legitimate blogger. That's why when you apply for accreditation the BFC asks for copies, screenshots of your work or URLs with your blog's logo on. They want to see proof that what you're writing is receiving views, that your blog does have an audience. You could confirm this with your blog's statistics confirmed by your Google Analytics. They also ask that you include pictures and your social media handles. Accompanied by reasons for your attendance at London Fashion week.

You could go through the painful time-consuming task of attaching screenshot after screenshot with your statistics, or you can skip it and fast track with ZINE. A profile which pulls all the necessary information, pictures and statistics from your blog and social media once you've connected your media platforms. It looks much more professional than what you would have initially sent and it won't take longer than 5 minutes.

If you have a ZINE Media Kit, include your link instead. If you don't, we strongly suggest you create one, it'll make getting into fashion shows a whole lot faster!

Accreditation requirements

If you’re a blogger or influencer and want accreditation passes for London Fashion Week, you’ll need to send specific information about your followers and reach to be considered.

For Instagram, you’ll need to regularly post fashion related content and have a minimum of 35,000 followers.

For Youtube, you’ll need a minimum of 80,000 followers and an average of at least 50,000 views per fashion-related video.

For your blog you need to have amassed over 15,000 monthly unique visitors. They’ll want to see this data consistently for the past three months from your analytics software like Google Analytics.

Across all your platforms, you need to show that you have an interest in fashion and regularly support the work of British fashion.

Attending without

Each season the BFC compiles a list of successfully accredited bloggers for the London fashion week season and forwards it to PRs who will then inform bloggers if they were successful in their application.

Those who fail to receive accreditation, but did register their interest will still receive a briefing pack with information of how they too, can be a part of fashion week through events. They will also have access to an online blogger hub with videos, images, news and highlights from the catwalks. Those who were successful in their application will receive a slightly different briefing pack, which will include information about on-site facilities, events and a code of conduct for the shows.

If you are a starter blogger and fail to reach the 10,000 limit, you should still attend even if it means not getting into the show. There is a buzz that surrounds fashion week, and events are likely to take place nearby, giving you the opportunity to wander round and take photos. There will be industry insiders in the area, so make sure you dress up and showcase your favourite looks, who knows whose eye you might catch.

Remember you could also buy tickets to attend London Fashion Weekend. It will give you an inkling of what it's like to be a fashion insider at a fashion show, as it aims to recreate the fashion world of fashion week. With shows of smaller designers, panels with fashion experts and a insight into the new season's trends.

Why go to London fashion week

Being one of the first to see the new trends isn't the sole reason for attending fashion week.

Go for yourself: Everyone who’s a fashion devotee should attend fashion week, it’s a must. Fashion week’s events are a bundle of inspiration for upcoming blogs and social media posts. You'll meet bloggers just like yourself with whom you might want to collaborate in the near future. It's an opportunity to build on designer relationships. You'll present yourself, and let insiders know about you and your blog allowing you to build a reputation for yourself within the industry.

Go for your readers: Even if your readers would have seen some collections from designers online, they want to hear your opinion. Educate your readers on your new fashion finds, inform them on the new season’s trends. For those who get accepted as accredited bloggers the BFC will have their eyes on you. They will be looking at how you cover fashion week and how you promote British Fashion, which will determine your attendance to Fashion weeks of seasons to come .

How to prepare for London fashion week?

Hectic, that’s the only word to describe Fashion week, and we’re not just talking behind the scenes. They’ll be hundreds if not thousands of people with a passion for fashion, some important and some not so important. Use the time in between shows to socialise, meet new people and introduce yourself, take people’s phone numbers and emails. Follow whoever you meet on social media and add them to your contact list. There’s no better place to network with people who hold a real enthusiasm for what you're passionate about.

During shows, take notes pictures and videos. It’s a good idea to keep your readers informed about what you’re up to until your blog is written and published. Inform them through your social media platforms. This way building anticipation by giving them a taster, a sneak peak of all the new trends.

Use this time to gain new followers and readers. By posting on your social media platforms, you'll be a go-to source for information not only your readers but for many others who aren't able to attend the shows. Make sure you use all the hashtags related to each fashion show you attend.